The original 'The Howling' had its flaws and was not quite a classic, though it is one of the better werewolf films out there, but it was still well made, witty and atmospheric with make-up/special effects that still impress hugely now. None of the sequels were anywhere near close to its level and most of them were way off. The only ones for me that were watchable were the fifth and sixth films, which were still heavily flawed. The others either went into camp overload or took themselves too seriously.
2011's 'The Howling: Reborn' appears to be a reboot, though with very little to do with the previous films in the 'The Howling' franchise other than being supposedly based upon the 'The Howling II' source material by Gary Brandner. The name 'The Howling' is pretty much the only similarity and connection this has with the previous films. Will say that as far as the franchise goes, 'The Howling: Reborn' is better than the abomination that was 'Bad Moon Rising', due to that it doesn't have as much as an incompetent in every way vibe. For me though it is second worst, the main reason for that being that it doesn't feel like a 'Howling' film at all. Others have likened it to 'Twilight', and despite wanting to be fair and not make comparisons as such the comparison is apt. Actually think it worse than 'Twilight', and this is coming from someone who doesn't care for any of the films in that franchise while not completely detesting them.
Will start with what just about saved 'The Howling: Reborn' from being a complete abomination. Some of the lighting is suitably eerie and has atmosphere.
Lindsey Shaw also did a pretty decent job with what she was given, which didn't have much meat and was pretty naff material but she made the most of it and was more than a pretty face.
None of the rest of the acting was good though, especially with a charisma-free lead who bores and annoys the viewer very quickly and that feeling never goes away and gets worse. Elsewhere, the performances veer on desperate. The narration is overused, over-explanatory and at times pointless, not to mention it kills the pace dead whenever it appears. The pace is very messy throughout, sometimes feeling rushed due to the choppiness and incompleteness of the editing and transitions and at other times it drags hard and makes an hour and a half in length film feel considerably longer. The direction came over as unrefined and disengaged.
In terms of the script, that was weak too. The overly-campy cheese that was there in some of the previous films is still present while also being too melodramatic. This was a case of being both cheesy and also taking it too seriously. The story is dull and has no scares, thrills or suspense. Ruined by the erratic pacing, the predictability and in particular that there is far too much focus on the romance which due to the complete lack of chemistry never engages or moves. The werewolves are severely underused and introduced far too late. When they do appear, they exude no threat or menace at all and instead come over as unintentionally goofy, plus the effects and make-up are cheap looking. As are the headache-inducing camera work that makes MTV look good, haphazard editing and an intrusive and ill-fitting music score that sounds out of date.
Overall, very bad though not irredeemable. 2/10
2011's 'The Howling: Reborn' appears to be a reboot, though with very little to do with the previous films in the 'The Howling' franchise other than being supposedly based upon the 'The Howling II' source material by Gary Brandner. The name 'The Howling' is pretty much the only similarity and connection this has with the previous films. Will say that as far as the franchise goes, 'The Howling: Reborn' is better than the abomination that was 'Bad Moon Rising', due to that it doesn't have as much as an incompetent in every way vibe. For me though it is second worst, the main reason for that being that it doesn't feel like a 'Howling' film at all. Others have likened it to 'Twilight', and despite wanting to be fair and not make comparisons as such the comparison is apt. Actually think it worse than 'Twilight', and this is coming from someone who doesn't care for any of the films in that franchise while not completely detesting them.
Will start with what just about saved 'The Howling: Reborn' from being a complete abomination. Some of the lighting is suitably eerie and has atmosphere.
Lindsey Shaw also did a pretty decent job with what she was given, which didn't have much meat and was pretty naff material but she made the most of it and was more than a pretty face.
None of the rest of the acting was good though, especially with a charisma-free lead who bores and annoys the viewer very quickly and that feeling never goes away and gets worse. Elsewhere, the performances veer on desperate. The narration is overused, over-explanatory and at times pointless, not to mention it kills the pace dead whenever it appears. The pace is very messy throughout, sometimes feeling rushed due to the choppiness and incompleteness of the editing and transitions and at other times it drags hard and makes an hour and a half in length film feel considerably longer. The direction came over as unrefined and disengaged.
In terms of the script, that was weak too. The overly-campy cheese that was there in some of the previous films is still present while also being too melodramatic. This was a case of being both cheesy and also taking it too seriously. The story is dull and has no scares, thrills or suspense. Ruined by the erratic pacing, the predictability and in particular that there is far too much focus on the romance which due to the complete lack of chemistry never engages or moves. The werewolves are severely underused and introduced far too late. When they do appear, they exude no threat or menace at all and instead come over as unintentionally goofy, plus the effects and make-up are cheap looking. As are the headache-inducing camera work that makes MTV look good, haphazard editing and an intrusive and ill-fitting music score that sounds out of date.
Overall, very bad though not irredeemable. 2/10